At the end of the Group Stages, in the Round of 16, the 8 clubs which progressed

from Groups A, B, C and D could have been kept apart from the 8 clubs which

progressed from Groups E, F, G and H in such a way that the following matches

could have been arranged:

Round of 16 (First-Leg Matches)

Contest

I Group B Runner-up B2 v. A1 Group A Winner

J Group A Runner-up A2 v. B1 Group B Winner

K Group D Runner-up D2 v. C1 Group C Winner

L Group C Runner-up C2 v. D1 Group D Winner

M Group F Runner-up F2 v. E1 Group E Winner

N Group E Runner-up E2 v. F1 Group F Winner

O Group H Runner-up H2 v. G1 Group G Winner

P Group G Runner-up G2 v. H1 Group H Winner

Round of 16 (Second-Leg Matches)

Contest

I Group A Winner A1 v. B2 Group B Runner-up

J Group B Winner B1 v. A2 Group A Runner-up

K Group C Winner C1 v. D2 Group D Runner-up

L Group D Winner D1 v. C2 Group C Runner-up

M Group E Winner E1 v. F2 Group F Runner-up

N Group F Winner F1 v. E2 Group E Runner-up

O Group G Winner G1 v. H2 Group H Runner-up

P Group H Winner H1 v. G2 Group G Runner-up

In the Quarter-Finals of the competition, the following matches could have been

arranged, with the clubs which had progressed from Groups E, F, G and H playing at

home in the first-leg matches:

Quarter-Finals (First-Leg Matches)

Contest

Q Winner of M M1 v. I1 Winner of I

R Winner of N N1 v. J1 Winner of J

S Winner of O O1 v. K1 Winner of K

T Winner of P P1 v. L1 Winner of L

Quarter-Finals (Second-Leg Matches)

Contest

Q Winner of I I1 v. M1 Winner of M

R Winner of J J1 v. N1 Winner of N

S Winner of K K1 v. O1 Winner of O

T Winner of L L1 v. P1 Winner of P

Then, in the Semi-Finals of the competition, the following matches could have been

arranged:

Semi-Finals (First-Leg Matches)

Contest

U Winner of Q Q1 v. S1 Winner of S

V Winner of R R1 v. T1 Winner of T

Semi-Finals (Second-Leg Matches)

Contest

U Winner of S S1 v. Q1 Winner of Q

V Winner of T T1 v. R1 Winner of R

Thus, in the Final of the competition, the Winner of U would have competed against

the Winner of V at the Olympic National Sports Complex in Kiev on 26 May, 2018.

Summary

If such an alteration of the modus operandi of the U.E.F.A. Champions’ League were

to be made, then the levels of competitiveness of this competition would be raised

because:-

it is likely that most of the matches in the Group Stages would be contested
between clubs which have approximately equivalent, financial resources and,
therefore, these matches would be much more competitive than they have
been up to now;

it is likely that there would be fewer occasions when the financially poor team
of one club was heavily beaten by the financially rich team of another club; and

it is likely that, more often than not, 4 clubs from the financially disadvantaged
leagues would qualify for the Quarter-Finals and that these 4 clubs would be the
strongest clubs from the financially disadvantaged leagues and would therefore
be much more able to compete successfully against the 4 clubs from the financially
advantaged leagues than would the other, weaker clubs from the financially
disadvantaged leagues.

In addition to these improvements, if this alteration were to be made, it is likely that

there would be fewer, meaningless matches on Matchday 5 and Matchday 6 of the

Group Stages; there would be more, commercially attractive matches between the

best teams in the competition; and there would be a greater variety of clubs and

nations represented in the latter stages of the competition.

It would also be impossible for 2 clubs which had been in the same group during the

Group Stages to compete against one another again until the Final Match of the